Will Ferrell co-anchors Bismarck local news as Ron Burgundy

Patrick Kevin Day

Will Ferrell's promotional tour for "Anchorman 2" has taken some unusual directions, including in-character appearances on "Conan" and a series of ads for Dodge Durango, but his strangest to date happened Saturday night in Bismarck, N.D., when Ferrell co-anchored the evening news on CBS affiliate KXMB.

Ferrell never broke character as he read the actual local headlines alongside regular anchor Amber Schatz. The latest developments in Bismarck, population 64,751? A trash fire in the parking lot of a local Sam's Club and holiday shopping updates from local merchants.

Around the edges of the actual news, Ferrell worked in bits of his character while the local on-air staff worked heroically to keep things moving along professionally. He leaned into shots and even noted the weatherman's possible recent weight loss.

Schatz told the local newspaper, the Bismarck Tribune, that Ferrell's appearance was kept hush-hush by station management and revealed to her only a few days before it happened. She did say the crew was given a quick rehearsal with Ferrell before the actual newscast.

Ferrell flew into Bismarck on his way to Canada, where he will cover the Olympic curling trials in character. He'll also host ESPN's "SportsCenter" on Thursday.